A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c20.s1.3

c20.s1.3

On the whole, however, Jainism had more influence than Buddhism on the life of the people, particularly in Karnātaka and in the Tamil country owing to the striking contributions made by Jaina authors to the literatures of Kannada and Tamil. Some account of them has already been given in the last chapter on literature. The Jaina temple built at Aihole by Ravikirti in the reign of Pulakeśin II is said to be the abode of all excellences, and Jaina temples and monasteries continued to be built everywhere in the extensive dominions ruled by the Chālukyas and the Rāshtrakūtas. Rāshtrakūta Amoghavarsha I, for instance, found solace by retiring to a Jaina monastery more than once in the course of his long reign. Many of the early Western Ganga monarchs were followers of Jainism, and it also found patronage under the Eastern Chālukyas. Amma II (mid-tenth century) built two Jinālayas and established satras (feeding houses) attached to them where śramaṇas (Jaina monks) of all the four castes were to be fed.